Please no negative comments concerning Azogs character, I just want my question answered! lol. Now considering his look in the films, being Cgi, what if that look was done in prosthetic, like Bolg? Could it actually work? They would obviously need someone large like conan stevens (I don't know how built up Manu actually is, though he seems less bulky than conan) But with Azog having no shirt on, would they leave the actors body, or add stuff ontop to give it more muscle? either way, im wishing they made Azog Prosthetic, he would look so much better! dou you think it could have worked? maybe they might end up doing? who knows! "fingolfin looked up in grief to see what evil morgoth had done to maedhros"

far more fearsome and genuinely frightening compared to Azog which does absolutely nothing for me. And I chose that picture because I always thought that scene, where the orcs first break through the gate of Minas Tirith, was very terryfying when you think about what it would actually be like to face down such blodd thirsty creatures. Yet the CG goblins in The Hobbit do not have that about them, they feel weightless and just simply not scary because no sense of danger exists when they don't exist.

which i personally thought fine (though not up to Gollum standars, obviously). It was more to do with his overall design and the performance of the actor than the fact that he was CGI. And i say that as a fan of actors in prosthetics, and of all the orcs in LotR. The Great Goblin, for instance--he was quite convincing and effective as a menacing, if a touch comedic, character (and if you ignore that stupid chin, which isn't easy). And trolls have always been great foes in all of Jackson's Tolkien films. So, no, i honestly don't think the character would have been improved with an actor in prosthetics, because it would have still been the same actor, and the overall design would likely have been very similar. An ill concieved character is an ill concieved character.

Most of the goblins in AUJ were actual guys in prosthetics, they just had CGI faces. If you're talking about the few instances where they're fully CGI, LOTR had shots like that aswell.

Regarding Azog, i don't think his current design could have worked as a guy in prosthetics. Make-up prevents a lot of facial expressions, which is something they really did a good job with on Azog i think. I still prefer prosthetics over CGI. But Azog being CGI makes sense considering his design.

I also find it somewhat amusing sometimes how some people complain about Azog being CGI and "not actually being there", but then at the same time praise Gollum which is basically done in the exact same way. You could argue that one has better CGI, but then we're talking about the quality of CGI, not the fact that he's CGI or not.

I felt that LOTR orcs that were supposed to be much "lesser" than Azog, like Grishnakh, Snaga, and Gorbag, looked much more frightening than Azog. Even the two "real" orcs in AUJ, Fimbul and Yazneg, looked scarier than Azog did. And I know many doin't like Bolg's design, but I think Bolg looks pretty cool, and far more menacing than Azog. The rest of the cgi orcs in AUJ looked like cartoon characters to me. Yes, I absolutely think Azog would have looked scarier if he were a guy in prosthetics.

I was thinking that very same thing. I re-watched AUJ this past weekend, and I paid close attention to Azog. I really don't see what all the complaints are about. His facial expressions are really amazing. Far better than Larz from FOTR. Even the best prostetics are limited facially. He shows distress and confusion. He has a smirk that couldn't be replicated with a mask on.

I think the main problem is having white skin with no shirt on. It shows you that it's definitely CG, but even that wasn't as bad as people are saying. When he's holding the king's head that is practically a painting it looks so good, but once or twice when he's walking his body looks out of place.

If they really want it to look perfect they should put some dirt and mud on his skin. I think he was a little too clean in comarison to all the dirty, blood stained people around him. Like the orc he kills on weathertop. He's covered in dirt. He looks real. Azog stands out in contrast.

Anyway, that was my impression. I'll watch it again later and see if it holds up.

I think Azog is an excellent piece of design. Very expressive, very powerful and full of character. Very likelike - and frightening. I'm sure that if they could have done it better with prosthetics then they would have. But the CGI is amazing.

I find Azog (in terms of a character) much better than Lurtz, and that's pretty much down to his design (as well as application).

Though I do like Azog's final design, I do *prefer* when he once looked like Yazneg (see this video). In a crowd, Azog sticks out like a saw thumb. His Yazneg-look is much more in keeping with previously seen Orcs.

in comparison to Gothmog, Azog looked like an adorable kitten
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i believe the CGI has taken away the gritty, fearson and truly evil look which the orcs possessed in the LOTR. Gothmog for instance possessed that incredibly detailed and hideous face which freaked the hell out of me especially during his appearences in the attack on Osgiliath. To me Azog looks too fake and clean making him somewhat unintimidating.

I think he would have been better as an actor in prosthetics. That would have been my preference. Thank you for your questions, now go sod off and do something useful - Martin Freeman Twitter chat 3/1/13

Azog doesn't suffer from the stiff faces and lack of expression like the LOTR. All they ever did was growl and show their teeth. Azog grins, has the most dialogue etc etc. CGI(at least in the face, is a big improvement to me.

But I feel Azog isn't up to the same level as some of the other CGi characters. He would probably look fine in another film, but compared to Gollum, the Trolls and The Goblin King, I feel the fact he was a late addition shows. I think a lot of his CG orcs look better than him and I was unaware the majority of them were entirely CGI till I read the Weta chronicles. I do feel CGI does allow for some variety amongst the orcs and is great for allowing them to express emotions that could have previously been hindered by prosthetics and I do like the prosthetic orc, part prosthetic part cgi orc and entirely CGI orc as it allows for a greater variety of designs.

All that being said, I do think Azog is already looking better in the brief glimpse we get of him in the Dos trailer. Yes, my username is terrible.

My movie viewing has always been about using organic actors in makeup for key villains. Can you imagine if they'd done Bane in CGI in stead of Tom Hardy playing him in a (albeit rather silly) mask? CGI lives more in the realm of superheroes and sci-fi by necessity. Azog might have been more intimidating, but he's all right. I don't think of him as very cunning for some reason, although he's got enough smarts and wilderness knowledge to figure out how to track a bunch of dwarves in company with a wizard. Certainly he's brave enough to do that.

Yes, but then he wouldn't look like he currently does...
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Now considering his look in the films, being Cgi, what if that look was done in prosthetic, like Bolg? Could it actually work?

Unlike several of the posters above, I don't actually like Azog's design. I find him to be completely incongruous in Jackson's Middle-earth; he resembles nothing that's come before him (in the original trilogy) or, as far as we know, in the films yet to come. He just doesn't fit. Anyway, to answer your question, no, I don't bellieve there's any way they could have realised that design for Azog using prosthetics. I only wish they had settled on prosthetics because then they may have designed something more in keeping with the aesthetic they'd already established! "I have found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love."

Unlike several of the posters above, I don't actually like Azog's design. I find him to be completely incongruous in Jackson's Middle-earth; he resembles nothing that's come before him (in the original trilogy) or, as far as we know, in the films yet to come. He just doesn't fit. Anyway, to answer your question, no, I don't bellieve there's any way they could have realised that design for Azog using prosthetics. I only wish they had settled on prosthetics because then they may have designed something more in keeping with the aesthetic they'd already established!

...And have said so many times-- he flies in the face of Jackson's previously established Middle-earth aesthetic, and not only in his physical appearance. The way he struts around like some kind of tough guy is more like something you'd see in the WWE. He'd be much more at home in one of those horrible Dungeons & Dragons movies (only his cgi would be even worse-- just kidding, i thought his cgi was fine).

those Uruks from LOTR were magnificently horrible. Azog on the other hand was so obviously cgi that i felt nothing looking at him, he looked plastic. I liked what they did for the Mouth of Sauron, it was a guy in costume with a cgi face, it was brilliant and one of the creepiest villains i have ever seen in a film.

I certainly find the CGI form more menacing then he was under prosthetics, and the added size this allowed definitely makes him seem powerful, but I find it hard to say whether or not he would have been more fearsome in prosthetics, but under the same design as he ended up with. The one thing I can say, however, is that he would look a lot more grounded in the universe, and perhaps a bit crueler because of that.

I think Azog being less gritty and crude than the other orcs is deliberate though.
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I remember reading in another thread a while ago that Azog is supposed to represent what orcs originally looked like back when they were first made: corrupted Elves.

He is essentially the "pure" orc. This idea is very easy to see; he is far more human/elf-looking than all other orcs. Since they were originally created, orcs have become wilted, watered-down versions of what they were originally. They are now deformed and much less powerful.

To me the idea of Azog being a "pure" orc, and perhaps even the last of his "kind", is more frightening than any orc with gnarled teeth and digusting facial features. He is more human/elf than monster, and as such is more of an actual character than just another grunt like all the other orcs before him have been.

I absolutely agree - for me Lurz was terrifying in FofR - That scene when he shoots Boromir or fights with Aragorn... uuuuh I had some troubling times with nightmares!

When I saw Azog the first time on screen, for me it was a white and evil Avatar for me. But no nightmares or the wish to leave the theater at ones for me. (And this is what I usually do, when it gets scary.) He is looking much better in the trailer for DoS!